MOzarker

vkelly - You are not alone... I agree, it's time to move on. Mizzou is in a new era. Time to leave the past behind. I'd much rather we focus on Georgia and arkansas.

bigg- thanks for the reply. Good to know that all the tweets and photos in college jerseys don't really mean much.

*they sign*

Somebody educate me, please. We read about these players flipping from one school to another and another. Is a player officially committed only when the sign? If so, then Mizzou could lose this player just like the other schools. Seems like a "commitment" is pretty hollow.

Interesting picks. I'm waiting to see how this will match up with the rest of the media's pre-season predictions we'll see this summer. If history is any is any measure of things Mizzou will probably be picked to finish fourth or lower.

Agree with your analysis. It appeared that Maty started cold and improved as time went on. This game was typical most games this season...a slow start and improvement late in the first half and in the second half.

Apparently sarcasm is a concept lost on some people.

Amen. No chance that Finebaum will use the word 'embarrassing' to describe the SEC West losses to Big 10 teams like he did when Mizzou had an early season loss. I'm sure he won't be consistent when Alabama teams lose to the B1G. The excuses will be plenty.

Did hell freeze over? A Mizzou victory is the top story on the SDS homepage.

Interesting that of all the teams in the SEC West, it's only TAMU and Arkansas that have bowl victories (so far).

Brett - please make up your mind. In this article you write "Mizzou has taken over the SEC East in just three seasons." Two days earlier (on Dec. 24) you said, "Despite two straight divisional titles, no one regards Missouri as a real contender in the East." So which is it...taken over the East or not a contender?

Absolutely agree. The media is just parroting the same old thing once again. Ever since Finebaum got his feelings hurt by Gary Pinkel in 2012, the rest of the SEC media (including SDS) fell in line with the "no respect" mantra. Time to give it a rest. Crybaby Finebaum: http://www.insidestl.com/insideSTLcom/McKernan/tabid/61/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/9473/Pinkel-vs-Finebaum.aspx

Talk about an oxymoron: Missouri, with two straight divisional titles, is not a contender in the East. Huh? That aside, I think it's time to give the "no respect" thing a rest. Most Mizzou fans don't really care about this. "No respect" is just a trite little phrase that media types throw out when they have nothing else to say.

This article should be titled "Hey y'all, look at what I can do with Photoshop!"

I believe the point was to not get emotional based on comments from a college kid.

Okay. We don't have the same understanding but it's time to move on. Nothing more from me about this topic. I wish your Dawgs the best in their bowl game.

Not taking it personal, just found your word choice interesting. Two issues here: football, and the state. You used the word contempt with respect to the state, not the football program. Words mean things. Own it if that's what you meant. If not, then say so. I can only comment on what you wrote, not what you meant.

Wow. This went to a whole new level. I thought this was about a football program, but now it's contempt toward an entire state. I assume the standard meaning of the word applies: disdain, scorn, despised. But at least we get to the root of it - the belief that Missouri does not belong in the SEC. The time to argue about that is over. Missouri's southernness is not a debate for a football website. Let the social scientists deal with that. As far as acceptance goes, Mizzou didn't get the memo that it was required to follow South Carolina's example: 19 years from entering the conference until their first SECCG.

You support my earlier point. I've monitored this issue all season long and it appears that "respect (or lack of) for Mizzou" is more of a media talking point than anything else. It happens in the news all the time...a statement or phrase is used and then it is parroted over and over until the original context or source is forgotten. It's time for Mizzou fans to stop taking the media's bait by talking about respect. Enjoy a successful season and let the media move on to something else.

Drew - You say a blowout loss essentially equals no respect in the conference. Following that logic, South Carolina was blown out by a wider margin in their one and only SECCG appearance. Yet, as far as I can tell, there is no discussion about SCAR struggling for respect. Seems to me that there is something else going on here. Perhaps this "no respect" mantra is a media fabrication and it's time to drop it.

And UGA also beat two SEC teams with winning records this year...a 10-3 Mizzou and an 8-4 Auburn, so I'm not sure where you are going with that. Legitimate means conforming to the rules, and the rules say that the two teams with the best conference records in their respective divisions play for the championship. Opinion doesn't matter.

You say a team has to beat expectations? Okay, let's go with that. . . . .Mizzou was expected to finish no better than fourth in the East this year and sixth in the East in 2013. Seems to me that qualifies.

Still pointless.

Two words: non sequitur

This "what might have been" stuff is pointless.

Not vanishing. Still a fan. Tough loss to a team that played like National Champions. Wish Bama the best. No need to be a sore winner.

Congratulations, Bama Nation. Now go get that National Championship!

These "what if" scenarios are getting boring. We can "what if" all day long and it accomplishes absolutely nothing. It has no place in a real discussion.

I can't believe what I'm reading here!

I'd take Tammy, Phyllis, or Jim over pompous Paul any day.